When Moses was being commissioned by God to lead the nation of Israel out of captivity in Egypt, he was timid about going against the most feared King and nation of his time. So, he had a little conversation with God about it. He didn’t come out and say it, but I’m fairly certain that in his mind he was saying, “You have got to be kidding!”
So, here is part of his conversation in Exodus 3:13-15.
"Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"
"God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."
In other words, God said to Moses, “I am the God who has always existed in eternity past and who will always exist in the future.”
"…and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
The meaning this second time was a simple restatement of what God had already said, “Tell them that the ‘eternally existent one’ has sent you.”
15 "God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus, you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘YEHOVAH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. "
‘Furthermore’ indicates that God was not finished with His proclamation. There was more. In fact, ‘furthermore’ may have signified that He was about to give the real answer to Moses’ question. It was as if He was saying, “Pay attention to what I am about to say!” Then God proclaims emphatically, that from this day forward, He shall be known as YEHOVAH. He declares that YEHOVAH is His personal name forevermore. There is no end to this declaration of the name of God.
God also proclaims that this is to be His ‘memorial-name’ for all generations. This is the name by which God wants to be remembered. Where ‘forever’ indicates the length of time for the remembrance of the name YEHOVAH, ‘all generations’ emphasizes that His name is to be remembered for as long as there are people that inhabit the earth.
No wonder God’s name, YEHOVAH, is written in the inspired Old Testament of the Bible 5,789 times. It was meant to be written, spoken, and remembered. It is His personal name. YEHOVAH is His name.
To engrave this truth on Moses’ heart, God makes His point again in Exodus 6:2-7, just before Moses’ first miracle.
2 "God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am YEHOVAH;
3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, YEHOVAH, I did not make Myself known to them."
And then in verses 6-8…
6 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am JEHOVAH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
7 'Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am YEHOVAH your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 'I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am YEHOVAH.'"
Without doubt, YEHOVAH is the personal name of God. It is His name forever! Just as my personal name is John. God’s personal name is YEHOVAH.
Who is the LORD?
So, let me pose a question: If God’s personal name is YEHOVAH, why do most Bible translations translate YEHOVAH as “the LORD”?
The answer is straightforward. The most common translation of YEHOVAH is ‘the LORD’ because the translators chose to follow the traditions of man instead of the command of God.
In Jewish tradition, the name of God was regarded as so sacred that after years of legalism, it was forbidden to speak His name. The fear was that if His name wasn’t handled with absolute care, it might be spoken in vain.
His name was regarded as so holy, that when a scribe came to the name YEHOVAH in his copying of the Bible, he would select a new pen to write the name of God: YOD, HEH, VUV, HEH. Then he would break the pen, so it would never be used again.
Consider this: God never commanded us not to speak His name. In fact, God said just the opposite. He wants to be remembered forever by His personal name, YEHOVAH.
A Great Travesty of Translation
In my opinion, the translation, ‘the LORD,’ might be one of the greatest travesties of translation of all time. It takes God’s personal name and makes it impersonal. It takes God’s identity and strips it away.
George Washington is one of the greatest American names of all times. Can you imagine if we stripped his name out of all the history books and replaced it with “the man”? History would become meaningless and George Washington would be completely unknown. His identity would be gone and everything he did would become impersonal. It strips away the passion behind what He achieved. It removes his deep convictions from history. It turns his accomplishments into meaningless actions taken by the inanimate power of an nondescript man.
Let’s take this argument a step further. Think about the name of Jesus. Can you imagine if the name of Jesus was stripped from all our writings and we never again spoke His name? Can you imagine only referring to Jesus as, “THE MAN” or even “the LORD”? There would be nothing left of our faith. The Gospels would be reduced to an empty narrative about someone whose name we could never mention. Yet, this is exactly what we have done to YEHOVAH.
Give God the Glory Due His Name
So, what does this mean going forward? For me, it has been a journey of getting to know God in a much more personal way. Now, every time I read one of the 5,789 mentions of the name YEHOVAH in the Old Testament, I simply read God’s name the way He commanded me to remember it. I read His name as YEHOVAH.
Just to get you started, take some time to read through a slightly different version of Psalm 29. When you read it, pause each time you read the name of the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Stop to reflect on the fact that the Most High God, invites us to dialogue with Him on a first name basis. Give Him the glory that is due His name.
Psalm 29
The Voice of YEHOVAH in the Storm. A Psalm of David.
“Ascribe to YEHOVAH, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to YEHOVAH glory and strength.
Ascribe to YEHOVAH the glory due to His name; Worship YEHOVAH in the beauty of His holiness.
The voice of YEHOVAH is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, YEHOVAH is over many waters.
The voice of YEHOVAH is powerful, The voice of YEHOVAH is majestic.
The voice of YEHOVAH breaks the cedars; Yes, YEHOVAH breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of YEHOVAH hews out flames of fire.
The voice of YEHOVAH shakes the wilderness; YEHOVAH shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of YEHOVAH makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"
YEHOVAH sat as King at the flood; Yes, YEHOVAH sits as King forever.
YEHOVAH will give strength to His people; YEHOVAH will bless His people with peace.